Linger
by DreamNZ
Summary: My contributions to the world of 100 word one shots.
1. Hands

"Hojo?"

"Yes, Higurashi?"

"Could you let go of my hands, please?"

"Of course.… Higurashi?"

"Yes?"

"Do you want to go to the movies with me tomorrow?"

"I'm sorry, I can't. You see, Hojo-"

"The mall?"

"No, because there's-"

"How about out to eat?"

"Listen, Hojo, I really can't go out with you! And you really should stop asking me."

"Why is that Higurashi?"

"Because if you don't than the angry dog demon behind you is going to kill you."

"What angry dog demon?"

"_That_ angry dog demon."

"Oh. Oh… OH SHIIIIIT!"

"I told you to let go of my hands…"

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Well, that's the first of my 100 word one shots. I decided to just sit down and try to write one out, and I found that I like it! 100 word stories are really a good way to challenge an author, specially one that is battling a looming writers block. So, enjoy! And remember... I am new at this, so cut me some slack. :)


	2. Linger

She stood by and watched as they turned their backs to her and walked away, hand in hand. Her heart broke into pieces as they disappeared from sight, leaving behind only the fading memory of their presence. 

She stayed there until arms wrapping around her waist startled her from her melancholy thoughts.

"What are you doing?" a smooth voice whispered into her ear.

"Saying goodbye," she said back, her voice choking on her tears.

He took her hand and led her away, leaving behind the two mounds of dirt that were shaded by the overhanging branches of an old tree.

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Hmm, I started out with the first line, planning on going in one direction, but I began writing and it took me down a completely new path.

As to who is being referred to in here, I'll leave that up to you decipher. I think I made it pretty obvious, but I could be wrong!


	3. The Little Things

They sat side by side on the grassy hilltop. Shoulders touching, hips touching, but neither in a hurry to move away from the other. Kagome tentatively laid her head upon Inuyasha's shoulder and was relieved when he did not shrug it off.

They watched the sun set over the peaceful village in contentment. She enjoyed his warmth that seeped into her. He enjoyed her scent that gently wafted over him. Long after the sun had sunk below the horizon they were still sitting in the same positions.

Sometimes it is the simple things in life that bring the most pleasure.


	4. Repeat

"Would you do it all again if you could?"

He pondered his choices.

Peaceful, soulful eyes.

Eyes sparkling with joy for life.

An occasional hint of a smile.

Brilliant smiles that spanned ear-to-ear. Just for him.

Always asking him to be someone else.

Begging for him to stay the same.

Meetings away from anyone who could see.

Hugs and hand holding for all to see.

Offering him the jewel for her purposes.

Offering him the jewel to do with what he wants.

Conditional versus unconditional. Love hidden away versus open and honest love.

"Would you do it all again?"

"Yes."

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I think this is pretty self-explanatory… I hope. Yes, the one be asked and answering is Inuyasha. And no… I don't really think he would do it all again. I think if he were given the option to go back in time to stop everything from happening, he would take it, even if it meant losing Kagome. Sometimes he's too honorable for his own good.


	5. Just Another Day

"HENTAI!"

SMACK!

Kagome and Inuyasha shared a look that clearly said "Not again!"

Sango stormed up and grabbed Kagome's arm to drag her away. Kagome willingly followed, knowing that Sango just wanted to gripe about the perverted monk. That left Inuyasha and Miroku to walk beside each other.

"Can't you keep your hand to yourself for once?" Inuyasha said with an annoyed sigh and an irritated growl.

"You're just mad that she always takes Kagome away from you."

He really should have known better than to say that.

BUMP!

"Oww!!"

And yet he was still surprised by the descending fist.


	6. Reflex

A cool breeze swept over two girls relaxing in a hot spring, rattling branches behind them.

"I have an idea," one girl whispered, grinning at her friend.

"What's that?" 

The first girl picked up a stone near her and tossed it over her shoulder.

The younger girl's eyes lit up with understanding. "Sit!" she called out, giggling at the resulting crash.

"Ow! What was that for?" and "I didn't do anything you stupid wench!" Came from the camp on the other side of the bushes.

Winking at each other the two girls called out in unison, "Sorry! Just a reflex!"

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Just a pointless and inane little one shot. :)


	7. A Child's Love

Happy brown eyes smiled up at cold golden eyes. She did not care that he rarely smiled or that he could be scary when he was mad. She did not care that he never kept the pretty flowers she gave him and never accepted the food she offered to share.

It was enough that he smiled only at her and never really got angry with her. It was enough that he took the flowers from her at all and found her the food he never ate himself. It was enough that she was his Rin and he was her Sesshomaru-sama.


	8. Tax

Two years. Two years of shard hunting, fighting demons and heartache. And it was finally over.

Kagome stood alone in the battlefield, unhurt. No one was hurt. But still, she was alone.

Sango and Miroku were kissing by Kohaku's unconscious body. Shippo was still in hiding. And Inuyasha stood where Naraku had died, holding Kikyo in his arms.

Kagome saw the look on his face and knew Kikyo alone had his heart and soul. So she turned around and walked away, a bittersweet smile on her face. She would let them have each other, but she was keeping the jewel.


	9. Who Knew

Secretly they had all thought they would be the one to land the killing shot. Inuyasha thought he would use Tetsusagia and Sesshomaru thought he would use Toukjin. Sango thought hiratosoukou would slice him up and Miroku thought he would suck him into his kazanna. Kagome thought she would purify him and Kikyo thought she would drag him down to hell. Kouga thought he would beat him down and Kirara thought she would fry him. Who knew? Who knew that Naraku, the spawn of everything evil and terrifying, the bane of their very existence, was deathly allergic to fox fire?


	10. Ours

No one knew when it had started. One day he had been pinned to a tree in the forest, and the next he was attacking a strange young miko. After the blessed collar had cursed him to crash to the ground at the miko's whim, he had begun to hang around the village.

At first mothers warned children to stay away and men kept a wary eye on him. But eventually they began to feel at ease around the hanyou, and then they began to feel safe. Somehow, sometime, he had stopped being "that hanyou" and had become "Our hanyou."


	11. Contemplation

She sat on the edge of the well, legs dangling over the edge. As she peered into the assuming darkness, she wondered how it worked. How did it send her back to the past? Why did it? Why did it let Inuyasha come to the future? Why were they the only ones allowed through? Was it all a fluke? Was it destiny?

As she pushed herself off and fell through time she realized that she did not care about the hows or whys. She was just happy that it had happened to her, and it had brought her to Inuyasha. 


	12. Just a Dream

It was all a dream.

She was not really a time-traveling school girl struggling to piece together the jewel that she shattered.

She was not really fighting for the love of a half-demon who was in love with a woman that was basically a clay pot.

In reality, her life was very ordinary.

Kagome rolled over and cuddled up against her dog-eared husband and concentrated on his gentle snores. She was glad she was not really from such a crowded, hectic time. She loved her sleepy little village nestled among the trees.

She was glad it was all a dream.


	13. Lots

She watched him staring at the ethereal woman standing across the field, and turned to walk away. She was used to this by now. She still got annoyed whenever he went to her, but she knew her lot in life and would not fight against it.

He knew she was giving him space. He was thankful for it, but he did not need it, for he knew his lot in life and would not fight against it. He would go to hell when his past loved called for him, but for now he only wanted to walk beside the girl.


	14. Some Things Will Never Change

"We're lost."

"No we aren't!"

"I'm tell you, you don't know where you are! Why don't you just stop and ask for directions?!"

"Because I know where we are and where we're going. I'm never wrong about these things!"

"Then how come we've passed that same tree five times?"

"How would you know it's the same tree? I'm telling you, that's not the same tree!"

"I tied a ribbon around the tree the third time I saw it, and there it is." White ribbon fluttering in the wind.

"… We're not lost."

Sigh. "Just stop and ask for directions already."


	15. Cover

"Where's Kagome this time?" Eri asked her friends on a Monday morning.

"I called her house… her grandfather said she had a lethal form of poison ivy," Ayumi said.

"Is there such a thing as a lethal form of poison ivy?" Yuka asked in disbelief.

"I don't think so," Eri said, shrugging. "So, what do we tell everyone for this week?"

"How about… a disk dislocated in her back again?" Yuka suggested.

"Better than nothing," Eri agreed.

So the girls split up to spread more believable rumors about the mysterious absence of their best friend, as they did every Monday.


	16. Under a Spell

He never smelled her distinct scent until long after Kikyo was gone and he was left numbly staring off into the direction where her spirits had taken her. But all the same, the scent was always there. Kagome never failed to witness a meeting between the two of them.

Sometimes he wondered why she would bother to follow him when she knew what she would find. But more often he wondered how he could possibly miss her enticing scent and ignore her soothing presence whenever Kikyo was around. Was he truly that enthralled with Kikyo? Or was there something more?


	17. Free to Stay

She was finally free. Free to be the wind, to think and do as she desired. So why did she feel the need to be by this man? She could not remember much of her life before becoming one with the wind, but this man – she felt as if she should know him. He brought a sense of happiness and of safety to her that she could not explain. And maybe he knew her too, for when she brushed by him and ruffled his hair, his normally frozen features lifted – if even for a moment – into the slightest of smiles.


	18. Just Passing the Time

Violet eyes to golden eyes.

"Your hakama is untied."

"Keh."

"Kagome is topless behind you."

Blush.

"Sesshoumaru is making love to Jaken over there."

"You're disgusting!"

"Look! Kouga is coming to steal Kagome away!"

"Not funny, monk!"

"Naraku's about to attack you."

"_Not funny!_"

"Are you ever going to give up?"

"Nope."

Sigh.

"Oi, monk."

"What?"

"Who is that guy that Sango is talking to over there?"

"Where!"

Kagome held out her hand, palm up. Sango grumbled under her breath as she dug out a coin and dropped it in Kagome's hand.

"Never bet against Inuyasha in a staring contest!"


	19. Knowing

Kagome studied hard, hung out with her friends and smiled contentedly at her family during every meal.

But Mama knew it was all a charade. Sometimes when she passed Kagome's open door she'd see her staring off into space - twirling a battered arrow in her hands, blinking away tears.

Mama knew that one day Kagome would say goodbye and jump down the well, never to return. But she steeled herself against that day because she had always known that Kagome belonged to Inuyasha and he belonged to her. A Mama doesn't stand in the way of true love like that.

******

Wow, I haven't written anything in a long time, but was inspired to do so lately. And 100 word stories are the quickest things to get out - usually.

This is set during the very last part of the magna.


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